JOHN ADAMS-ACTON (BRITISH, 1830/1834-1910)
JOHN ADAMS-ACTON (BRITISH, 1830/1834-1910)
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Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a fil… Read more
JOHN ADAMS-ACTON (BRITISH, 1830/1834-1910)

A Maiden with a doe or Lady Clare

Details
JOHN ADAMS-ACTON (BRITISH, 1830/1834-1910)
A Maiden with a doe or Lady Clare
signed and dated 'JOHN ADAMS ACTON / FECIT ROMA 1864' and with the inscription to the base 'THE LILY WHITE DOE LORD RONALD HAD BROUGHT X DROPT HER HEAD IN THE MAIDEN'S HAND / LEAPT UP FROM WHERE HE LAY. X AND FOLLOWD HER ALL THE WAY'
marble
39 ¼ in. (99.5 cm.) high
Special notice
Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square not collected from Christie’s by 5.00 pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Cadogan Tate. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Cadogan Tate Ltd. All collections will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Lot Essay

The inscription is the 17th stanza from Tennyson's 'Lady Clare', first published in 1842, and derived from a novel, 'The Inheritance' by Miss Ferrier. This is the story of a foundling, an heiress presumptive, deception and repudiated love. However, Tennyson's poem differs in that Lord Ronald (Colonel Delmour), rather than betray his lover, Lady Clare (Countess of Rossville), for status and monetary gain, stands by her.

This figure is an early work by the British sculptor, John Acton-Adams (1830-1910), executed when in Rome having won the Royal Academy travelling studentship. While there he met John Gibson, the most significant British sculptor in Rome in this period, who acknowledged Acton-Adams' talent for portraiture and recommended him to a number of prestigious clients including Gladstone who became his patron. Acton-Adams, a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1854-92, was also highly sought after for his allegorical, classical and heroic work; these include the present sculpture, The First Sacrifice, The Lady of the Lake, Pharaoh’s Daughter, Zenobia, and The Millenium.

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